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Connor Hellebuyck

Snapshots: Jets, Makar, Archibald

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The Winnipeg Jets have a deep forward unit, a revamped defense, and one of the best goaltenders in the world, yet they are still sometimes left out of the conversation when it comes to contenders for the 2022 Stanley Cup. Perhaps that’s because they’re from a market in snowy Manitoba that has less than a million people, but it’s also because this same core has disappointed over each of the last three postseasons, reaching the second round just once only to be swept out by the Montreal Canadiens.

If you think that the window may be closing on the key group in Winnipeg, you’re not alone–they know it too. Connor Hellebuyck told reporters today including Murat Ates of The Athletic that the Jets are “not getting any younger” and their “time is running out.” Captain Blake Wheeler will play this season at age-35, while he, Mark Scheifele, and Hellebuyck all have only three years remaining on their respective contracts. The rest of the roster isn’t as young as it once was and there’s no guarantee they are going to be better in the years to come than they are right now. There’s optimism that the Jets can be one of the best teams in the league this season, but they also have some pressure to perform while the clock is ticking.

  • When Cale Makar graced the ice today in a non-contact sweater, Colorado Avalanche fans panicked wondering what happened to their star defenseman. Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Peter Baugh of The Athletic that Makar had a procedure in the offseason and the team will take their time getting him up to speed. Bednar didn’t seem concerned, explaining that Makar would be “good to go” soon enough.
  • Josh Archibald has been confirmed as the Edmonton Oilers player that has declined the COVID-19 vaccination, meaning he may miss 30 or more games this season depending on travel restrictions. Archibald wasn’t on the ice today as he finished a quarantine, but is expected to join his teammates tomorrow. Duncan Keith, who was recently vaccinated in the U.S., will not participate in camp until next Friday as he finishes his own quarantine.

NHL Announces First And Second All-Star Teams, All-Rookie Team

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Following the announcements of the final five NHL regular season awards, the league also revealed their three all-league rosters: the First-Team All-Stars, the Second-Team All-Stars, and the All-Rookie Team. Below are the 2019-20 honorees:

First All-Star Team (link)

G: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
D: Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
D: John Carlson, Washington Capitals
LW: Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
C: Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
RW: David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins

The 2020 First-Team All-Stars are a historic group, the first time since the inaugural all-league honors in 1930-31 that all six honorees are first-time members of the team. Unsurprisingly, this team also covers most of the league’s major awards with Draisaitl taking home the Hart, Ted Lindsay, and Art Ross, Josi winning the Norris, Hellebuyck winning the Vezina, and Pastrnak earning the Rocket Richard.

Second All-Star Team (link)

G: Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins
D: Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
D: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
LW: Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
C: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
RW: Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

The President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins finish with a league-best three players on All-Star rosters. Their division rival, and current Stanley Cup finalist, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the only other team with more than one inclusion on the all-star rosters. Noticeably absent from either all-star teams are future Hall of Famers Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. This is just the third time since 2005-06 that at least one of the pair have not been on a postseason All-Star team, while they have both have been selected in the same year eight times in the past 15 years.

All-Rookie Team (link)

G: Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus Blue Jackets
D: Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
D: Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
F: Victor Olofsson, Buffalo Sabres
F: Dominik Kubalik, Chicago Blackhawks
F: Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens

The rookie elite, led by Calder Trophy-winner Makar, is an older group than usual. Merzlikins, Olofsson, and Kubalik, all 25 or older, played in Europe for a considerable amount of time before jumping to North America as a polished product, while Makar and Hughes each played a pair of seasons in the NCAA and Suzuki aged out of juniors before turning pro. Nevertheless, the first-year pros were all impressive and still have many  quality years ahead of them.

Connor Hellebuyck Wins 2020 Vezina Trophy

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The Vezina Trophy has been announced and the 2019-20 winner is the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck. Presented to the best goaltender each season, the award is voted on by the NHL’s general managers. Hellebuyck was selected as the recipient over the Boston Bruins’ Tuukka Rask and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy.

While quality is often a stronger argument than quantity when it comes to goaltending performance, Hellebuyck’s impressive campaign was an exception. While Rask led all starters in both save percentage and goals against average by a wide margin this season, he did so in just 41 games. Hellebuyck meanwhile played in 58 games, more than 80% of the Jets’ games. He led the league in total shots against and saves, as well as shutouts, and finished second in wins and total time on ice. Yet most impressively given his heavy workload, Hellebuyck finished second to Rask in save percentage among starters and sixth among starters in goals against average. Of the 31 NHL GM’s, 19 cast a first-place vote for Hellebuyck versus ten for Rask, allowing the Jets keeper to edge out the victory.

Hellebuyck, a former college standout at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, has had an up-and-down NHL career, but finally put everything together this year. While he has previously led the league before in wins and saves, he has also had seasons where he has struggled immensely. Winnipeg can likely put those worries to rest after the 27-year-old established himself as one of the best in the game with an outstanding 2019-20 season.

2020 Vezina Trophy Finalists Announced

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The NHL continues to release the finalists for the major regular season awards, this time announcing the nominees for the Vezina Trophy. The award is given to the best goaltender in the NHL and is voted on by the league’s general managers.

The finalists are Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins.

Vasilevskiy took home the award last season after putting up a .925 save percentage in 53 games, but couldn’t maintain quite the same level this time around. His save percentage dropped to .917, though he led the league in wins for the third consecutive season with 35. The Russian goaltender has had just about as much success as anyone to start his career, recording 159 regular season wins in his first 260 games. Amazingly, that already puts him 118th all-time despite not turning 26 for another week. A three-time Vezina finalist, he’ll likely be in the conversation for a while longer.

Hellebuyck meanwhile is only a little over a year older than Vasilevskiy and has experienced his own prolonged success to start his career. He led the NHL in starts this season with 58, putting the Jets on his back for long stretches when they were trying to patch a defensive corps together with spare parts. His .922 may not lead the league, but his 1,656 saves do as did his six shutouts. Hellebuyck could potentially be a candidate for the Hart Trophy as one of the most valuable players in the league given where the Jets would be without him.

Rask, 33, is an aging veteran compared to the two other finalists, but he is not slowing down in terms of performance. The Bruins netminder has benefited from having a strong backup the last few years and played just 41 games this season, but posted an incredible .929 save percentage in those appearances. After raising his career save percentage to .922, Rask is now third all-time behind only Dominik Hasek and Johnny Bower (among goaltenders with recorded shot totals). He already won the Jennings Trophy as part of the goaltending duo with the lowest goals against average, and took home the Vezina in 2014.

Poll: If The Season Ended Today, Who Would Win The Vezina?

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While the NHL has made it clear it intends to do everything it can to save its season this year, there are many who feel that while the playoffs are still likely, even if they come at the end of the summer, the likelihood of the regular season playing out are a little less likely. Pro Hockey Rumors has already conducted polls on who might win the Calder Trophy and the Hart Trophy. So, the next question is, if the season ended on Mar. 11, who would walk away with the Vezina Trophy?

Perhaps the top candidate to receive the award is the goaltender for the best team. The Boston Bruins have dominated all year with a 44-14-12 for 100 points and much of their success could be credited to goaltender Tuukka Rask, who has had one of the best seasons of his career, which compares to his Vezina Trophy season in 2013-14 when he had a 2.04 GAA and a .930 save percentage in 58 starts. This year, Rask has accumulated 28 wins in 41 appearances with a 2.12 GAA and a .929 save percentage after carrying his team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. He also has accomplished that with an often injured blueline in which has seen almost every member of the defense see injured reserve at different points throughout the season.

Perhaps his top competition would be Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck. The 26-year-old’s numbers might not compare well to Rask, however, the netminder has had a tougher road in terms of challenges. The Jets lost quite a bit on defense last offseason, which included the losses of Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Ben Chiarot and Jacob Trouba with only Neal Pionk being a major addition to the team. Despite the major losses on defense, however, Hellebuyck was the difference-maker, keeping Winnipeg relevant for much of the season and helping them to a current wild card spot, if the playoffs began today. He has already appeared in 58 out of 71 games and, while his 2.58 GAA is just OK, he’s had an impressive .922 save percentage this year.

The other candidate would be Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, last year’s Vezina winner. While the goaltender got to a slow start early on in the season, he’s been much more dominant in the second half of the season. In 28 appearances through December, Vasilevskiy had just a .906 save percentage, not up to his usual greatness. However, he was more dominant once 2020 hit, posting a 9-0 record in 10 appearances in January, while boasting a dominant .948 save percentage and was looking to have a good March as well before the season got cut down. In all, Vasilevskiy has a 2.53 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

One other interesting candidate, Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper, might be an interesting one affected by injury. The 29-year-old was near the top of Vezina Trophy consideration in December before suffering a lengthy lower-body injury that held him out for nearly two months. Unfortunately, he has only appeared in 29 games for the season, but his 2.22 GAA and .928 save percentage were dominant. However,

It’s impossible to include every candidate and there are other interesting goaltenders in there not getting consideration like Dallas’ Ben Bishop and St. Louis’ Jordan Binnington, but we’ll keep the list to four goaltenders.

For Pro Hockey app users, click here to vote.

2020 NHL All-Star Skills Participants Announced

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Before Saturday’s All-Star Game three-on-three tournament, the NHL’s best will take the ice on Friday night in the annual All-Star Skills event. There has been considerable hype around this year’s competition, given both the new “Shooting Stars” event, in which players will fire the puck at targets on the ice from platforms in the stands, and the participation of stars from the women’s game, including their own three-on-three scrimmage. Now, the league has announced who specifically will be taking part in each event, both new and classic. Below is the lineup for each event:

Fastest Skater

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

Save Streak

David Rittich, Calgary Flames
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks
Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

Accuracy Shooting

Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

Hardest Shot

Mark Giordano, Calgary Flames
Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets
Shea Weber, Montreal Canadiens
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
John Carlson, Washington Capitals

Shooting Stars

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators
David Perron, St. Louis Blues
Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
American Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)
Canadian Women’s Elite All-Star (TBD)

Women’s Three-On-Three

Team Canada: Meghan Agosta, Mélodie Daoust, Ann-Renée Desbiens, Renata Fast, Laura Fortino, Rebecca Johnston, Sarah Nurse, Marie-Philip Poulin, Natalie Spooner, Blayre Turnbull

Team USA: Kacey Bellamy, Alex Carpenter, Kendall Coyne Schofield, Brianna Decker, Amanda Kessel, Hilary Knight, Jocelyn Lamoureux-Davidson, Annie Pankowski, Alex Rigsby Cavallini, Lee Stecklein

All the action kicks off at 7:00pm local time in St. Louis, with coverage from NBCSN in the U.S and CBC, SN, and TVAS in Canada.

PHWA Announce 2019-20 Midseason Awards

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Though they have no bearing on the eventual winners, each season the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote for the Midseason Awards to give fans an idea of who is leading the charge around the NHL at the halfway point. Today those ballots have been tallied and the midseason trophies were given out:

Hart Trophy – Most valuable player

1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
3. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins

Norris Trophy – Best defenseman

1. John Carlson, Washington Capitals
2. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators
3. Dougie Hamilton, Carolina Hurricanes

Selke Trophy – Best defensive forward

1. Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
2. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
3. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues

Calder Trophy – Best rookie

1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
2. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks
3. Victor Olofsson, Buffalo Sabres

Lady Byng Trophy – Sportsmanship & gentlemanly conduct

1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
2. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues

Vezina Trophy – Best goaltender

1. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
2. Ben Bishop, Dallas Stars
3. Darcy Kuemper, Arizona Coyotes

Jack Adams Award – Best coach

1. Mike Sullivan, Pittsburgh Penguins
2. John Tortorella, Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Craig Berube, St. Louis Blues

Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award

1. Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche
2. John Chayka, Arizona Coyotes
3. Doug Armstrong, St. Louis Blues

Rod Langway Award – Best defensive defenseman

1. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
2. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

Comeback Player of the Year Award

1. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Anthony Duclair, Ottawa Senators
3. Max Pacioretty, Vegas Golden Knights

Competition Committee Submits Rules Recommendations

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The NHL and NHLPA released a joint statement this evening outlining the changes recommended by the Competition Committee, which wrapped meetings today. The players’ side, led by NHLPA Special Assistant Mathieu Schneider, included Ron Hainsey, Connor Hellebuyck, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and James van Riemsdyk. The league side, led by NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Opertations Colin Campbell, included Craig Leipold, David Poile, Ken Holland, Doug Wilson, and Steve Yzerman. Together, the group came up with some intriguing ideas for consideration.

The most notable suggestion, as well as the most expected one, was expanded access to video review and coach’s challenges. Few details were disclosed as to the specifics of expanded review, other than allowing referees to use video review to review calls on the ice. However, after a postseason in which incorrect calls has drawn so much media scrutiny, it’s fair to assume that changes are coming to review procedures to help remedy that situation.

Another suggested rule change bound to draw some attention is a change to the the tie-breaking procedures used to determine final regular season rankings. While the joint release did not outline the proposed changes, Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman believes that the preference of the Competition Committee is to use simply regulation wins rather than “ROT”, regulation and overtime wins, as the primary tie-breaker. If adopted, this rule change could very well see more teams looking to end games in regular time as opposed to playing for overtime, especially late in the season in a tight playoff race.

Other suggestions included changes to face-off locations based on icing, pucks out of bounds, power plays, intentionally knocking the net over, and goalies unnecessarily freezing the puck, as well as a rule that would require players to leave the ice if their helmet is knocked off during play.

These rules suggestions still need to be approved by both the NHL’s Board of Governors and the NHLPA’s Executive Board, and many of the proposed changes will require more detailed presentations, as well as considerable discussion. After suggestions are adopted, the language will be formalized and they will officially be indoctrinated into the NHL rule book. Stay tuned for further updates on these possible rule changes when these governing bodies meet later this summer.

Snapshots: Competition Committee, Imoo, Byron

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When the NHL/NHLPA Competition Committee convenes tomorrow in Toronto, the players’ side will be represented by some of the biggest names in the game. The NHLPA has announced that Ron Hainsey, Connor Hellebuyck, Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and James van Riemsdyk will be the players in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. McDavid and Tavares obviously stand out as two of hockey’s top talents and players whose inputs will be highly valued. Hainsey is a respected veteran who has always been involved with the players’ association. Hellebuyck will seemingly be there to represent all goalies, while – maybe unintentionally – van Riemsdyk will be the only player from an American team in attendance. The group will have a lot to talk about, as officiating concerns have only increased over recent weeks and the discussion of changing or expanding review will almost certainly be on the table.

  • The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman reports that Los Angeles Kings goaltending development coach Dusty Imoo is headed overseas. The goalie whisperer is set to join the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star in a similar role and Dillman notes that it is a major loss for the Kings. She writes that Imoo was part of a strong tandem with goalie coach Bill Ranford that has worked with Jonathan Quick for years, helped to resurrect the careers of Peter Budaj and Jack Campbell, and have been working with promising prospect Cal Petersen. Fortunately, goaltending is one of the few areas where L.A. found success last year and, even with the loss of Imoo, still have the talent and depth to stay strong in net.
  • Blaine Byron has re-signed with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds, the team announced. It’s a one-year re-up for Byron, who just completed his second season with the Thunderbirds. Byron was a standout at the University of Maine and was expected to draw NHL interest as a college free agent in 2017, but instead signed with Springfield. He failed to impress in his first pro season, but after a 25-point campaign this year, it would not have been a surprise to see the Florida Panthers look into a two-way deal for the well-rounded forward. Instead, Byron returns to Springfield and will look to improve again next year.

Snapshots: NHL Olympic Participation, Pesce, Fleury, Brossoit

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The IIHF held its annual press conference shortly before the semifinals of the 2019 World Championships and the most interesting question asked of IIHF President Rene Fasel was about NHL participation at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Fasel said that much of that will depend on the NHL’s upcoming CBA negotiations, which is expected to expire in 2021-22 season, although either the NHL or the NHLPA can choose to opt out in September of this year.

“I had a short discussion with [NHLPA Executive Director] Don Fehr yesterday,” said Fasel. “It is important for the game of ice hockey, 100 per cent. We should show our product at the highest level. I’m happy that 119 NHL players are here (at the World Championships). And they don’t come for the money, they come to represent their countries and end the season in a good atmosphere.”

Fasel said that he would like to get confirmation of NHL participation as soon as possible, but has not set a deadline.

  • Now that the Carolina Hurricanes season is over, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on his 31 Thoughts column reports that one player who was unhappy and wanted a trade was defenseman Brett Pesce. The 24-year-old blueliner was unhappy earlier in the season when he was seventh on the team in ice-time, playing 1:31 minutes less than his 2017-18 totals. However, his ice time increased after New Year’s Day as he averaged 21:20, which was third on the team only behind Jaccob Slavin and Justin Faulk. His playoff numbers were even higher, which has appeased Pesce and should end any trade talk. Friedman adds that the team will most likely trade defenseman Haydn Fleury instead this summer as he is no longer waiver-eligible and the team would almost guaranteed lose him if he couldn’t win a roster spot.
  • The Winnipeg Jets locked up their backup goaltender, restricted free agent Laurent Brossoit, to a one-year, $1.225MM contract earlier today. After struggling in an earlier stint in his career in Edmonton, the goaltender said that signing with the Jets was a priority due to his friendship with fellow goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. “There’s only one other guy that you can relate to on a full level,” Brossoit said (via Jets’ TV host Jamie Thomas). “For it to be with a friend, same age, similar interests and we get along very well. Just makes a season that much more enjoyable.”

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